AMES, Ia. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal says it’s important to focus on the most dangerous part of President Barack Obama’s legacy, which he describes as efforts to redefine the American Dream.

He said he hears Obama trying to divide Americans by race, sex and other factors, while managing a slow decline of a great country and great economy. “It sounds more and more like the countries in Europe,” he explained.

But Jindal, a Baton Rouge native whose parents immigrated legally from India, says the nation must remain one where everyone has an opportunity for education and success. Even Obama is an example of that, he added.

Jindal, 43, spoke at the Iowa Family Leadership Summit. He’s a graduate of Brown University and was a Rhodes Scholar, studying at Oxford. He’s also a former president of the University of Louisiana System, the 16th largest higher education system in the country. This is his third visit to Iowa this year to test the waters for a possible presidential run.

Jindal said he’s worked to reduce the size of state government and bolster the economy, but he especially wanted to focus on education and school choice. Students shouldn’t be trapped in failing schools, he added.

“The bottom line is that no two children are exactly alike,” he said. Teachers unions contend that parents don’t have a clue about their children’s education needs, but he said they are wrong. The federal government shouldn’t have the ability to block parents from making efforts to give their children a better education, he added.

“The federal government needs to get out of our classrooms,” Jindal said to enthusiastic applause from the audience. “How do we get to the point that the federal government even thinks it has that power? They don’t think we are smart enough to pick the right schools for our children.”

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